Hi Friends,
I haven't contributed much to the Digest lately, but this reference is one I think must of us would be interested in... - -- Henk | Henk.Langeveld_at_Sun.COM - Disclaimer: I don't speak for Sun. oK[] | -- sig under construction --
>From: luther_at_saucer.cc.umr.edu (John Luther)
>Newsgroups: alt.pagan
>Subject: Re: PHILO: Mythology for a Modern age
>Date: 17 Dec 1994 14:49:45 GMT
>Organization: UMR Missouri's Technological University
>Message-ID: <3cutq9$lmu_at_hptemp1.cc.umr.edu>
>NNTP-Posting-Host: saucer.cc.umr.edu
Bill Chandler (billchandler_at_delphi.com) wrote:
: Brendan P Myers <bmyers_at_uoguelph.ca> writes: : >: I'm not certain you can really create "mythology" that is myths held by : >: a large number of people as telling essential truths, with intent to create : : On the contrary. It was one of Tolkens intentions when he wrote the Lord of : Lord of the Rings, to create a mythology for England. And I think he did : a fine job. Your second statment still holds though. A lot of people need : to want to belive it befor it evolves from a story to a myth. Tolken did : that too.
I recommend the book _Living Myth_ by D. Stephenson Bond (Shambhala, ISBN 0-87773-861-0). He discusses the process whereby myths may grow out of an individual's search for some sort of sense of the Universe and then be adopted by more and more people, eventually becoming a culture's myth. He suggests that as one mythic system is found to be more and more strained to explain the world as it is, roughly two reactions will occur. Some will embrace a fervent fundamentalist approach and insist on changing reality to fit their myth. Others will abandon the myth and seek new mythic structures out of their own experience. Each of these seekers will discover/construct myths that help them make sense of their world. As they share these myths among themselves and with other seekers there will be a "settling out" of myths. They will merge and shift and eventually (over many years) a new "dominant" mythic system will evolve.
Great book.
Peace,
jwl
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